5 Guidelines to Using Trucking Services for Deliveries

The shipment of your deliveries could very well mean the happiness of your customers resulting in continued business or utter disappointment that leads to loss of sales and profits on your end. Therefore, you need to take steps to ensure deliveries are made in an effective and timely manner.

While air mail is typically used for international shipments, continental and domestic ones are usually made by truck. Because there are so many trucking companies available and all of them will say they can meet your needs, there are certain factors to consider when hiring one.

1. Company reputation

Before settling for any trucking company, you need to ensure that it has an excellent reputation for offering quality services and on-time deliveries. One way to accomplish this is by analyzing the company’s reviews. You need to take into consideration both the positive and negative reviews.

Find out how long they have been offering their trucking services and whether or not they have been involved in any lawsuits. What are their former clients saying about them? How often do customers complain about their services? Do they have reliable customer service to handle such complaints? Determining the answers to these questions will ensure that the company you hire is reputable.

2. Versatility

Versatility refers to the variety of services that a trucking company offers. When selecting the right trucking company, you need to ensure that it provides a wide range regarding fleet of trucks to cater for all your transportation needs.

Most reputable companies will have a broad range of trucks ranging from light to medium to heavy trucks. They also have special vehicles and effective mechanisms for transporting fragile goods and other loads that require special care, for example refrigeration. Choosing such a company will save you a lot of time and extra costs that you would have spent moving from one company to the other looking for personalized transportation whenever new shipment needs arise as well as reimbursements for damaged goods.

3. Pricing vs. quality of service

Generally, you should look for a company that guarantees you the services that you paid for. It is therefore essential to consider the transportation services provided when comparing the fee charged by various truck companies. The route to be used during transportation will also determine how much you will be charged.

You also need to know their method and terms of payment. A good company will make a request for payment once they have safely delivered your goods. Check with the company to ensure that all charges are included. This will prevent you from incurring hidden or extra costs and help you budget well for the transportation of your goods.

4. Licensing & insurance coverage

Every reputable truck company will have a legal permit and proper insurance to cover their trucks and the goods you are shipping. You should, therefore, check with your company to ensure that it meets all licensing and insurance requirements in all regions involved during transportation. This is quite beneficial if you wish to transport fragile, hazardous or expensive cargo.

Proper licensing will cover your cargo to ensure that you are adequately compensated in case of damages, loss of goods, or delayed delivery.

5. Transparency

Before entering into any binding agreement with a trucking company, you need to consider the level of transparency involved. Transparency will include being provided with adequate information about the driver in charge of your shipment, the truck allocated for your delivery, how the company arrived at the transportation fee, and the route to be used. Having such information will help you make well-informed decisions.

A good trucking company will also have an accurate tracking system and ensures that customers have real-time access to such information. From this, clients can know the real-time progress and exact location of their cargo.